Voters in Portsmouth concerned about funding for health care, the arts

Saturday

Sep 8, 2012 at 3:15 AM

By JIM HADDADINjhaddadin@fosters.com

PORTSMOUTH — Among the estimated 6,000 people who attended President Barack Obama's campaign appearance in Portsmouth Friday, there was a range of opinion about the most pressing concerns in this year's election.

However, some Portsmouth residents, and others from around the region, said they're concerned about maintaining federal support for people with long-term health care needs and for the arts.

Portsmouth resident Vernis Jackson, 80, attended Friday's event carrying a framed picture of herself and first lady Michelle Obama inside her handbag. A 50-year resident of Portsmouth, Jackson said the photograph was taken when she met both of the Obamas at a house party on the Seacoast in 2006.

Jackson, a longtime Portsmouth school teacher, retired in 2000, and founded the Seacoast African American Cultural Center. She is also helping to coordinate the Portsmouth African Burial Ground Project.

"One of the reasons I'm here today is because I want to make sure that the president and/or the party, or whoever, still supports the arts and culture," Jackson said.

Lori Gundlah, a York, Maine, resident, said she traveled to Portsmouth because she's been an Obama supporter for four years, and she continues to believe in his "mission." Gundlah said the 2012 Democratic National Convention, which concluded Thursday evening, appears to have built enthusiasm in the party.

She's hoping the president's appearance in Portsmouth will energize local Democrats to volunteer for the campaign.

"I'm very concerned that there's a lot of people out there that aren't really educating themselves as to what it really means," she said of the election.

Linda Flessas from Northwood came out to give "100 percent support" for Obama. Flessas said she watched both the Democratic and Republican conventions, but knew her vote was firmly in Obama's favor.

"I've known right along that it's Obama 100 percent," she said. "I'm not into people who flip-flop, or who don't do what they're supposed to in Congress. I want somebody who's going to work hard, just as he's done in the past four years, and I know he'll continue."

Portsmouth resident David Kay attended the rally with his brother, who is autistic, and said he is supporting the president because the election will influence whether programs like Medicare will continue to provide necessary support for people in need. The 23-year-old said he is also concerned about funding for the arts.

"We need a lot more support for the common people who struggle every day, and I have zero faith in a lot of the other people that are just going to cut from special needs, from Medicare, and from a lot of things that my family needs, and my brother needs," Kay said. "It's just that simple."

Pam Thompson, a 51-year-old Lunenburg, Mass., resident, was another "big Obama fan," in the audience. Thompson got a last-minute opportunity to attend, and said she was impressed by speeches Thursday from the president and Vice President Biden.

"It was great listening to Joe Biden," she said. "The way he talked about his wife — I loved to listen to the way he talked about his wife."

With a range of demonstrators in Portsmouth ahead of Obama's event — including supporters of his opponent, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney — Friday's crowd included some spectators who hoped to draw the president's focus to a particular issue.

One such attendee was Heather Curtis, a 43-year-old Portland, Maine, resident. Curtis was carrying a sign that encouraged the president to oppose so-called "tar sands oil." Curtis said she is also a member of the Occupy movement. She encouraged the president to be more "courageous" on environmental and human rights policy if elected to a second term in office.

"I feel like he has a real opportunity to stand up and stand in stark contrast to Romney," Curtis said.